The New Age Question: Data Center or the Cloud?

12 December, 2016

Infrastructure… It’s a love-hate relationship, especially when it comes to startups, wouldn’t you say? That’s why our COO, Phillip Koblence, decided it was time to set the record straight on the infrastructure trends we’re seeing in today’s market; such as, the tremendous hurdle of deciding whether to go with a large scale cloud provider or a data center. To do this, he enlisted the help of a good friend, Isaac Levy, a systems engineer at Enigma.io.

Since stepping foot into the world of technology, Isaac has worked at 11 different startups, two of which had no venture capital. Jumping right into the presentation he gave to NYI, Levy starts by reviewing the basics: “we all know that the product is what companies make their money on, but it’s the infrastructure that runs the product and keeps it online. That’s why it’s so important to choose carefully when building your infrastructure.”

For Levy to explain this concept in substantial detail, a fictional company had to be created and – just like that – Cyberdyne Systems was born. Since launching the “company” in 2009, Cyberdyne has seen many high and lows, especially with their operational expenses. “Whether you’re budgeting or going through a growth period, a lot can be said about a company based on the tools they use during specific time periods,” commented Levy.

In 2015, Cyberdyne saw an increase of annual infrastructure spending of over $2.3 million, leading Isaac to explain the importance of how your infrastructure is built. “You get to a point where you’re constantly comparing the cloud versus the data center,” he said. So, what’s the biggest difference? “At the end of the day, you have something that you can do instantly, that you pay a lot for verses something that takes a lot more time but the cost is undeniably lower.” In Cyberdyne’s case, the fictional company soon realized that the cloud’s flexibility, scalability, and reliability also brought
unforeseen snafus.

“There was this idea, that what happens in the cloud is taken care of, when in reality that wasn’t the case at all.” continued Levy. And so, the company spent months facing significant problems that they hadn’t experienced or expected. After noticing more time and money were being pushed out the door, Cyberdyne came to the conclusion that it was time to build their own network. This change provided them network routing and firewalling inside a network subnet, giving them a more streamlined and cost-effective solution.

Levy concluded that no matter what route a startup chooses, there is always a give and take. “Every single computer and everything you do with infrastructure can and will fail, and that includes buying it. But, finding out which way is the most cost effective and manageable for your company, that’s the key.”

Want to learn more about how to navigate the cloud and colocation landscape? Email salesteam@nyi.net today to see how we can customize a solution fit your business’ network and financial needs, no matter the size. Learn even more by following us on Twitter and LinkedIn!

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